The electronic returnless system, used in the 2004 F-Series, does not have a fuel-pressure regulator or a return line. That's how the system maintains the correct pressure. This means fuel is sent to the injectors from the pump in the tank, where a mechanical fuel-pressure regulator allows pressure above a specified psi to go back to the tank through a return line. There's a big difference in the fuel-delivery systems used in your 1998 F-150 and the 2004 model referenced in our previous reader's question. On the other hand, a fuel pump cutting out in most Japanese models is a rarity. They often don't reach the 100,000-mile mark. I'm not sure why, but for many years, fuel pumps have been a common failure on a lot of American-made cars and trucks. Patience from both the technician and driver, along with good communication, is crucial in diagnosing these types of failures. The fuel pump was changed and I've had no more problems since.Īnswer: Thanks for your input! Yes, a fuel pump is always suspect when investigating an intermittent no-start condition. Put a fuel-pressure gauge on to see if it's up to par. I'm not saying this is a fix, but it's a place to start when an engine turns over but won't start. I got the mechanic, he got his fuel-pressure gauge and, lo and behold, the fuel pump was intermittently failing and we had to catch it at its no-start mode to solve this problem. When we got it to the dealership, I turned the truck off and decided to start it one more time. Before he got in, I told him "don't get mad if it starts" and, wouldn't you know it, the sucker started. The third week, I got stuck and had the mechanic come to where I was stranded. The fuel-pressure gauge checked out good, injectors fired in harmony, spark and ignition coil were good, and the OBD II diagnostic scanner wasn't picking up any faults. The mechanic couldn't duplicate the malfunction. I had it towed back to the dealership to get it fixed.
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The first fix was the IAC valve, but this fix only lasted a week. Sometimes it would start fine, then after running errands I would come back and it wouldn't start. It had been a mystery for about three weeks. Question: I noticed a letter called "Start Me Up" in Truck Trend Garage in the November/December issue of Truck Trend, which I found interesting because I, too, recently had the same problem with my 1998 Ford F-150.